Oh this year I’m off to sunny Spain (with my Three phone) – Viva España

It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for (if you’re heading to Spain for your holidays and you have a Three handset that is). Three customers can now head to Barcelona, Ibiza, Benidorm, Majorca, Tenerife and every other Spanish island, city and town without having to worry about roaming charges.

From April 1st, Three users will automatically have that “Feel at Home” system which lets you use your existing package just as if you were back in the UK. Texts, calls and minutes can be used at no extra cost.

New Zealand also gets added to the existing 16 destinations where the Feel at Home plan is active. For such a popular European destination as Spain, it’s especially good to see though. Just recently the EU commission decided to keep roaming charges in place until 2018, which means that if you’re on another network and you don’t subscribe to any special packages or deals you’ll end up paying a fortune.

What’s particularly great about the Three offering is the fact that it’s ready the second you step off the plane and you don’t have to think about it – just carry on tweeting, browsing and snapping those selfies like you do at home.

In addition to Spain and New Zealand, other countries on the system include France, Switzerland, Israel, Finland, Norway, USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Macau, Australia, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark and Republic of Ireland.

Use your Phone as if you’re at Home in Spain and New Zealand with Three

o From today, April 1, customers on the mobile network Three can use their phone abroad at no extra cost from two new destinations, Spain and New Zealand o The two new countries join the 16 destinations cwhere Feel at Home is currently available, including France, USA, Australia and Italy, taking the total to 18 o The service, called Feel at Home, lets you browse the internet, call and text home, as well as tweet or chat without paying a penny more o Three continues to expand its free roaming offer as the EU announces that roaming charges will remain in place until at least 2018

Three is welcoming the summer with the announcement that its customers can call, text and use the internet abroad at no extra cost from today, April 1, in Spain, the UK’s most popular holiday destination, and New Zealand.

The news comes just in time for families making Easter and summer getaways to Mediterranean hot spots or those planning a trip of a lifetime to the magnificent New Zealand. Three customers will be able to call friends or family back home, brag from beaches and famous landmarks via social media, and discover the best travel apps to make holidays a breeze – all without incurring extra charges and facing a nasty bill on their return.

More than 13 million people* are set to travel to Spain this year to party in Ibiza, sight-see in Barcelona or soak up the sun in Tenerife. More than 200,000** will fly to New Zealand to see the incredible sights and experience all the adventures the country has to offer.

Dave Dyson, Chief Executive at Three, said: “Feel at Home is unique to Three and offers freedom from unfair roaming charges, which have come under the spotlight once again with the recent EU announcement that these charges are to officially stay in place until at least 2018. At Three we decided to start removing international roaming charges in 2013, and from today our Feel at Home service will cover 18 destinations across the world, which we’re extremely proud of.

“Feel at Home is already hugely popular with more than a million of our customers enjoying its benefits since launch. With the addition of Spain and New Zealand approximately 65% of our customer’s overseas data usage will be in a Feel At Home country. However, my ambition continues to be to eliminate excessive roaming charges globally and we’re working hard to open up even more opportunities for our customers to stay connected and enjoy their phones whilst they’re abroad.”

It couldn’t be simpler and there are no catches. Just travel to a Feel At Home destination and it will automatically activate as soon as you touchdown in one of the 18 great places to visit. As soon as you arrive, your phone picks up a local network and you can then chat to family and text your friends back home, post status updates and share holiday snaps whenever you like. If you go out of bundle, you will still benefit from reduced roaming rates – a no brainer for the modern traveller.

Customers on pay monthly, Pay-As-You-Go, SIM-only and mobile broadband have the freedom to use Feel At Home within the limits of their current Three price plan allowance, as long as international roaming is activated. Calls and texts to non-UK numbers will be charged at reduced roaming rates. Tethering is not included. Pay-As-You-Go customers will require an add-on.